1. Child abuse information relating to a particular case of suspected child abuse shall be sealed ten years after the receipt of the initial report of such abuse by the registry unless good cause be shown why the information should remain open to authorized access. If a subsequent report of a suspected case of child abuse involving the child named in the initial report as the victim of abuse or a person named in such report as having abused a child is received by the registry within this ten-year period, the information shall be sealed ten years after receipt of the subsequent report unless good cause be shown why the information should remain open to authorized access. The information shall be expunged eight years after the date the information was sealed.
2. Child abuse information which cannot be determined by a preponderance of the evidence to be founded or unfounded shall be sealed one year after the receipt of the initial report of abuse and expunged five years after the date it was sealed. Child abuse information which is determined by a preponderance of the evidence to be unfounded shall be expunged when it is determined to be unfounded. A report shall be determined to be unfounded as a result of any of the following:
a. The investigation of a report of suspected child abuse by the department.
b. A successful appeal as provided in section 235A.19.
c. A court finding by a juvenile or district court.
The juvenile or district court and county attorney shall expunge child abuse information upon notice from the registry.
3. However, if a correction of child abuse information is requested under section 235A.19 and the issue is not resolved at the end of the one-year period, the information shall be retained until the issue is resolved and if the child abuse information is not determined to be founded, the information shall be expunged at the appropriate time under subsection 2.
4. The registry, at least once a year, shall review and determine the current status of child abuse reports which are transmitted or made to the registry after July 1, 1974, which are at least one year old and in connection with which no investigatory report has been filed by the department of human services pursuant to section 232.71. If no such investigatory report has been filed, the registry shall request the department of human services to file a report. In the event a report is not filed within ninety days subsequent to such a request, the report and information relating thereto shall be sealed and remain sealed unless good cause be shown why the information should remain open to authorized access.
[C75, 77, 79, 81, § 235A.18]
83 Acts, ch 96, § 157, 159; 84 Acts, ch 1279, § 24; 85 Acts, ch 173, §17; 89 Acts, ch 230, §20; 90 Acts, ch 1221, § 5, 6; 93 Acts, ch 76, §5, 6
Referred to in § 216A.136, 232.68, 232.71A, 235A.12, 235A.13, 235A.17
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
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